What do the performing arts give to you?
“I think there are as many answers to that as there are days of the year…”
Video by Tiffany Valvo, Cal Performances’ Social Media and Digital Content Specialist. Music bed by Brad Mehldau Trio.
As we enter into the season of giving, we wanted to take a look at those intangible gifts that the arts bring each of us—gifts that inspire us and shape us throughout our lives. Given that each person’s relationship with live performing arts is incredibly personal, we asked a number of artists, UC Berkeley students and staff, and patrons what the arts have given them. And, as we stitched together these wide-ranging answers, it became even more clear how essential the performing arts are to our lives: they help us understand the world, grapple with complex ideas, find joy when we least expect it, and so much more!
Watch the video to hear more about the performing arts’ impact on members of our community: Jeremy Geffen, Cal Performances Executive and Artistic Director; Kimia Adibi, UC Berkeley student and Cal Performances PR and Social Media Assistant; Nathalie Joachim, composer, performer, and flutist; Judith Jamison, choreographer and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Emerita; Tom Craft, Cal Performances Audio Department Head; Jeff MacKie-Mason, Cal Performances Board of Trustees Co-Chair and University Librarian, Chief Digital Scholarship Officer, and Professor at UC Berkeley; David Finckel, cellist and Co-Artistic Director of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music@Menlo; Rica Anderson, Cal Performances Manager of Education & Community Programs; Oliver O’Reilly, Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at UC Berkeley; Wu Han, pianist and Co-Artistic Director of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music@Menlo; and Harumi Rhodes, violinist for Takács Quartet.
